?Chapter 986:


    He gave a shortugh, trying to push the thought aside. “This isn’t the moment to drift into nonsense,” he muttered.


    As far as Rnd was concerned, the whispers about Maia and udius carried no weight at all. Still, the way the matter had snowballed while Maia remained out of sight gnawed at him.


    He had seen plenty of dirty tricks in the past. Rumors were often spun to sway the crowd. And when words alone failed, some went further — snatching people, holding them captive, silencing thempletely so the real story never surfaced.


    Was it the Cooper family pulling the levers in secret, or had the Ward Group deliberately spread dirt to rescue Vince? Maybe the two families were in on it together.


    Their goal was in — to drag Maia’s name through the mud, to turn her from a celebrated heroine into a woman used of stringing along men, and to push Vince’s reckless behavior onto her supposed betrayal.


    Absolutely infuriating!


    Rnd lifted his head, scanning the space in search of Maia.<fn34af> ???? ????s? ???????s ?? FιndＮovel</fn34af>


    His eyes narrowed.


    The backstage was wide, yet there was no trace of Maia anywhere.


    Had the Coopers and Wards already made their move against Maiast night? Just then, his phone buzzed again, breaking the tension.


    He nced at the screen. It was a message from Elvira.


    “Rnd, I’m so mad I could shout! How dare they smear Maia like this! Saying she plotted the explosion herself? And ming her for cheating on Vince, of all things?”


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    Rnd rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was just about to type back, telling Elvira to cool down, when his phone vibrated again.


    Ding!


    “udius is getting way ahead of himself! He ought to take a good look in the mirror. How could Maia ever fancy him? And now they im she betrayed her husband with him? What kind of nonsense is this?” Rnd’s mouth twitched as he read the text.


    He could picture his sister on the other side, raging like a kettle about to boil over. Truth be told, Elvira had already started venting over the phone before Rnd even left the house, and she hadn’t stopped since — firing off messages nonstop, making sure he wouldn’t let it slip his mind.


    At the same time, on the far side of the press conference hall, the Morgan family had shown up ahead of schedule. The minute they caught wind of the online gossip and the announcement of the press event, their tempers red.


    It was utter rubbish! Their Maia was never that kind of girl.


    Richard’s face turned pale, his hands folded neatly behind him, though his posture remained firm and upright. If anyone dared to throw mud at Maia, he would snap back on the spot, forgetting appearances entirely. “Bullshit! You don’t know a damn thing! Maia’s being framed! Lies, all of it! I’d be a fool to swallow such trash.”


    In that moment, Richard seemed to have erased from memory how he once scolded Maia in the very same way, quick to judge and quicker to condemn.


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